Ready, Set, Connect: A Recap of the Specialty Summit

The best event of 2022

The 19th annual Magellan Rx Specialty Summit returned to New York City after a three-year in-person hiatus (if you asked our attendees, it felt more like three decades). More than 400 nationally recognized payers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, oncologists, and pharmacy industry thought leaders came to connect on the hottest topics and opportunities in the specialty drug management space and beyond.

Connecting YOU

This year's Specialty Summit theme was built on the idea of connection, connecting to better ideas, brilliant solutions and the brightest thought leaders in the industry. Over the two-day, jam-packed agenda, attendees heard from an expert lineup, covering a variety of pressing topics.

THE ONCOLOGY PIPELINE

Simone Ndujiuba, Director of Strategy & Innovation, shared insights into the oncology pipeline and what to look out for in the future. She heads up our oncology innovation and you can catch her on LinkedIn sharing Oncology X Insights on the latest oncology topics. Connect with her there!

ONCOLOGY FROM ALL ANGLES

Experts from Trapelo, Prime Therapeutics, and Horizon BCBS New Jersey shared unique perspectives on advancements in oncology, precision medicine and management strategies. Emcee Steve Cutts, SVP and General Manager, Specialty, moderated a dynamic Q&A session where the audience got to ask our experts to answer their burning questions.

SPECIALTY GAME CHANGERS

Joined by health plan experts from BCBS Alabama, Health New England, Florida Blue, Magellan Health and COEUS Consulting Group, this panel was led by Kristen Reimers, SVP, Specialty Clinical Solutions and Haita Makanji, VP, Clinical Strategy & Innovation, to discuss the specialty landscape and how it is affecting their members. Kristen and Haita also did an outstanding job leading a 400-person, interactive breakout session where attendees were able to connect and discuss specialty challenges and solutions.

THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE

Mostafa Kamal, CEO of Magellan Rx, moderated a boundary-pushing panel of top industry executives. CEOs from Arine, Aspect Biosystems, Wellth and Scipher Medicine discussed thoughtful leadership strategies and how to think differently about delivering innovation in healthcare.

PEOPLE-CENTERED CARE

Sarah Emond from ICER discussed patient-centered methods for access and Dr. Claire Wulf Winiarek from Amazon gave us a run-down on what's happening in Washington and how it will change the healthcare landscape. Throw in an incredible patient story from Matthew Zachary, and we're reminded and connected back to why we do what we do.

This year, we wanted to bring the theme of connection to the next level. Featured speakers from outside of the industry joined the roster to inspire attendees, including:?

Vanessa Van Edwards, lead investigator at Science of People, gave attendees a crash course in interpersonal science and advanced our communication skills with easy-to-follow, practical takeaways in her 60-minute keynote.

James Nestor, Science Journalist and author of Breath, took the stage to unpack how humans have lost the ability to breathe properly and why we're suffering from a laundry list of maladies – snoring, sleep apnea, autoimmune disease, ADHD – because of it.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Neurosurgeon, and Chief Medical Correspondent, CNN, enlightened us on how to keep our brains young, healthy, and sharp with a science-driven approach to protecting our minds from decline.?

This year's Specialty Summit brought an overdue breath of fresh air to the specialty pharmacy industry, proving that when like-minded people connect, the possibilities are endless.

While the sessions this year were unmatched, networking with industry colleagues and friends tied it all together. Attendees were able to connect at our kick-off Late Night Sip and Bite event, on the self-guided Central Park walking tour, and at the breathtaking Press Lounge (which offered the best views of NYC).?

Oh, and how could we forget – the MRx marketing team wanted to kick off the Summit in the best way possible – NYC Specialty Summit-themed stickers were all the rage. We're already looking forward to our 20th annual event in 2023!